Karnataka: Three SIMI activists held

Gulbarga, Oct 6: Three suspected activists of outlawed Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) were picked up by a team Corps of Detectives (CoD) from Bangalore with the help of local police in different places in the city on Sunday, Oct 5.

The detention comes in the wake of the arrest of four persons in the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts last week in a joint effort by Mumbai and local police in the wake of serial blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The trio were found to be receiving calls on their cell phones from two of these four arrested -- Naushad and Ahmed Bawa. Official sources said that the Special Investigating Team of the CoD detained the three persons in localities like Jilanabad, Meshaboobnagar and Moninapur in the city.

The arrests followed the interrogation of the four persons arrested in the coastal districts who had maintained constant contact with the three persons belonging to the city. They were immediately taken to the state capital for further questioning, sources said.

Gulbarga and Bidar cities in North Karnataka, have earned a dubious distinction for being terror hideouts because of its religious sensitivity and proximity to Andhra Pradesh capital Hyderabad and Mumbai.

A suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, Abdul Rehman was arrested in the city in March, during interrogation he confessed that he was part of the LeT plan to trigger blasts in vital installations in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

In other places like Davangere, Hubli and Belgaum the police have so far arrested over two dozen suspected SIMI activists since January this year.

UNI